Progress

The sliding glass door is in and today I started the tear off on the old siding. Even tar paper looks better than what was there. The door lets even more light into the kitchen.

Things seem to get worse before getting better

Have you ever noticed that sometimes life is like our back bedroom. It becomes this total mess that you don't even want to live with, so in order for it to get better it gets worse first. We could have left the back room like it was and not been so judgemental. I mean after all, just because the floor bounced, there was no insulation, the wiring and plumbing was bad, the framing was laughable and there were a few unwanted guest living within the walls, that is no reason to not appreciate the character of the room that is present, right? Actually it was enough to send our backroom to rehab. It went through some shakes and feverish nights but now our back room is in much better shape.
The first coat of mud

Drywall

The last sheet of drywall went up today.
Now it is time for mud. We are going back and forth on the fancy light, should we keep it or not?

Insulated & Wired

So the pink foam stuff was moved today and placed over the old window. So in a little while there wil be a 6' patio door to look out at the garden.
That is what you see framed here.
Here was the old door spot. Insulated all up now.

I still have to cut a dryer vent and install the washer box.

New roof and walls

Today we have finished new walls and a new roof for the back bedroom. The framing that was there wasn't up to code. So I rebuilt the skelton of the room from the inside. I roughed in a new patio door so we can sit and look at the garden. The old doorway will be sealed up later this evening. Then it is time to insulate. Once this room is done it is only minor things that need to be done on the house. We look foward to seeing what is next in this life.

From bad to worse to getting better

This is the back room as it was and is this morning. Click on it to see it larger.

So it has been a while

So remember way back in April when we started the back bedroom? Well this week I started at it again.The floor was insulated and the decking was laid down. The above picture shows the old window removed and the new wet wall installed for a washer & dryer.
Friday I was going to just put the plumbing in for the washer and decided to put new copper on everything going back to the main shut off. The bathroom and kitchen was complete already so it wasn't so bad. Except for when I broke the main shut off and water shot into the basement. I was prepared however with a main water shut off key for the access panel out on the street. The only problem was, my key didn't fit the city meter. So I ran into the house with water still gushing into our basement, I ripped open the filing cabinet to find the water company phone number. They answered the phone right away and tranfered me to a field person. After a short wait on the phone I explained that I was making an indoor pool. They would send someone right out, they said. So I waited for them. Have you ever waited patiently by the curb while your house is being flooded? They arrived and afterwards I went to the hardware store and bought the right key to shut off the city water out at the street. Now you know the real reason I replaced all the plumbing in the house.
The garden is getting tired. We have winter lettuce, spinach and such, but the peppers and tomatoes have slowed way down. I will miss the them.